A city-dweller’s love for the oceans

I didn’t grow up on the ocean coast, and so I am sad to say that when I was asked by WWF staff why I love the ocean, I didn’t have a heart-warming story to share, depicting my childhood where I would spot marine mammals from a distance or find interesting organisms on the beach during low tide. Rather, I grew up in the city of Toronto with really tall buildings and a lot of traffic. As you can probably tell from my photo selection, I don’t have that many ocean-related experiences.

This past year, however, I moved to Halifax to study marine management, as I have always had a telling curiosity for the ocean environment. Although I knew little about the Atlantic coast and was often told that I have no connection to the ocean, I am here to tell all of you city folk that we do.

It is too easy to believe that a beautiful piece of bluefin tuna was placed in front of you at no cost. “Out of sight, out of mind” seems to be the strategy most people use to cope with the state of our oceans.

But these things we love so much about the ocean – the diversity, beauty, and abundance – may not always be there. We need to remember that we depend on the oceans. We continue to have a huge impact on these ecosystems and therefore have a responsibility to protect them.

I am very lucky to have been given the opportunity to work with WWF and immerse myself in their sustainable seafood initiatives. I hope more people that feel geographically disconnected from the oceans will learn to love them as I have.